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Danger_dave
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 05:27 pm: | 
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It's the Tiger suspension. Riding position and stuff can be fixed. Easy.
But it needs a grand chucked at the suspension before it leaves the showroom - and it does feel cumbersome with all that bodywork.
You could turn into a beast though. |
Bigkuri
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 06:43 pm: |
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quote:For those who are having issues with wheelies....what is your body position like? You might want to seek out some lower bars like Fatty B and I have.
Sorry a bit of a hijack, however I've never heard of this? Care to give a precis? I don't suppose it gets rid of the 120mph shake which is just nasty on a corner.... |
Bigkuri
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 07:03 pm: |
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To make up for the hijack - below is the review of the 2008 Uly from UK RIDE magazine (one of th better rags). Before you read - yes, he obviously had the suspension set up wrong.
quote:
The legendary Ulysses, star of Homer's Odyssey, spent 10 years wending his way home from the Trojan wars. Leopold Bloom, hero of James Joyce's novel Ulysses, wandered around Dublin for a day, mulling over the past. Ulysses Everett McGill, the George Clooney character in O Brother Where Art Thou?, lurches from one disaster to another.
Where does the Buell Ulysses fit in? Heroic adventurer, backward looking wanderer, or hapless bungler? One thing’s for sure, it won’t be up everyone’s street – and that’s part of the appeal.
Where Guzzi have gone all-out to make it obvious the Stelio is a BMW R1200GS rival, Buell aren’t so keen to fit in.
The Ulysses has some of the components and qualities expected of a big long-distance bike with some off-road ability, but not others. That underslung exhaust, for instance, won’t last fine minutes on a rocky track. It has the 1203cc, 100bhp version of Buell’s Harley-derived V-twin, with the fuel in the frame, oil in the swingarm and belt final drive.
There are off-road-style bars, hand guards, metal footpegs, and a rack that converts into a pillion backrest or a tailpack mount. Heated grips and power sockets come as standard.
But ultimately it’s all about the engine. You’ll develop and opinion on the moment you fire it up – it literally rattles your teeth on tick-over. But the worst of the vibes disappear once you’re on the move, and it pulls hard from 3500rpm to 7000rpm, if you dodge the flat spot at 5000rpm [note – this is a review of the UK spec Uly, which has thin wee headers and a catalytic converter in the can which causes said flat spot] [...until you remove them.... ].
The brakes take some getting used to: they’re quite sudden, and send the bike into a nosedive that’s more dramatic than is strictly necessary.
The Ulysses has a small turning circle, but at higher speeds the steering is encouragingly heavy. The ride quality’s not so hot, thought: anything but the smoothest surfaces will unsettle the suspension, and the Pirelli Scorpion Sync tyres don’t always inspire confidence.
It’s at its best on urban bypasses, where the punchy response and high riding position put you in charge. But in stop-start traffic the vibration gets to you, and the riding position can’t match the relaxed comfort of a Triumph Tiger, R1200GS or Stelvio.
So forget Clooney, Joyce and Homer: the Ulysses this bike most closely resembles is the spacecraft of that name, currently exploring areas of space never previously explored.
It’s out there, on its own.
That explains why I wasted a bunch of R1's, fireblades, baby-blades, and Z1000 through Europe two weeks ago. Bloody journo's (with the exception of course of big dave!) |
Chadhargis
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 09:06 pm: |
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I've never had head shake on the Ulysses, but I've been running a LSL damper on it from almost day one.
The bars I put on are Renthals found here. I think Fatty went with Pro Tapers.
http://www.americansportbike.com/shoponline/ccp0-p rodshow/9180.html
Here's the damper I run:
http://www.americansportbike.com/shoponline/ccp0-p rodshow/9048.html
The Tiger would be a sweet bike if you put some money into it. Ohlins suspension, lower bars, pair off some weight (dump the heavy stock exhaust mounted WAY up high), scrap the centerstand too, and get rid of that horrible dished out seat for something with some comfort. I love the triple though. SWEET engine. Just sweet!
If the thing wasn't so rare and hard to get serviced, I swear, I'd be riding a Super Duke. I've never even seen one, but I just LOVE that bike.
YUMMY!
(Message edited by chadhargis on May 07, 2008)
(Message edited by chadhargis on May 07, 2008) |
Bigkuri
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 09:26 pm: |
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Cheers for that - appreciated. May go for the damper first I think.
Super Duke will cut you in half... Nice but just too SM IMO. Does not seem to hold a hard line through a corner that well. |
Ulyranger
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 09:30 pm: |
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Engine isn't powerful enough, runs too rough, air-cooled, wheel base too short, seat height too tall, fuel tank too small, engine should be made by Rotax, fan is too loud, front hoop too small, touchy brakes, fork dive, headlights suck, horn rattles, optional hard bags aren't that good and the latches suck........did I pretty much get it covered?
If you picked out three or more of the above as major gripes about the Uly you're either shopping or have bought the wrong bike IMHO. Everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion but to overly criticize a bike based on a core of what the bike is or how it's engineered and to expect that the manufacturer is just going to change everything for you is a little.......................
............did I mention how much I still love my Uly? Don't want L/Cing, parallel twins, boxer twins, knobby tires, a power plant Singer sewing machine smooth, a rear brake that locks up at speed, aw he11, what do I know? I'm still a nuly owner.....feel free to dismiss my enthusiasm. |
Danger_dave
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 09:33 pm: |
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I tested the 950SM - it was yummy too.
BMW Megamoto is more expensive - but you get what you pay for.
I also carry a passenger - neither are any good to me. |
Chadhargis
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 - 10:01 pm: |
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I'm a one up rider only. So passenger accomodations aren't needed for me.
I'd love a supermotard, but the issue I have with them is the seating is typically pretty bad. Feel like you have a bike stuck in your butt after a few miles.
I do most of my riding on the twisty backroads around the area. Seldom ever see major roads or interstates. In fact, I avoid them at all costs. |
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